The Drake Bay hiking trail is the perfect way to explore the dreamy coastline of the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica. Read on for a complete guide to the route.
I highly recommend that travellers in Costa Rica visit Drake Bay on the Osa Peninsula for its beautiful beaches and proximity to Corcovado National Park. What’s more, while in the area, you have to do the Drake Bay hiking trail.
The trail starts in Agujitas (Drake Bay Town) and mirrors the coastline heading west. However, you only have to walk a few kilometres to reach virgin beaches barely touched by man.
Walking the Drake Bay Trail allows you to explore the paradisiac coastline of the Osa Peninsula and, if you’re lucky, spot some of the local wildlife.
In this guide, I break down everything you need to know about hiking the Drake Bay Trail. I cover distances and timings, the key points of interests and practical tips to make the most of it.
Drake Bay hiking trail overview
The trail starts at Playa Colorada, the beach below the main town of Agujitas and, while there’s no specific end point, you could walk for days. However, this guide covers until Playa San Josecito, a small virgin beach around 9 km away, which is the ideal place to turn around.
- Length: 19.5 km
- Duration: 5 h (round trip not including stops)
- Recommended turnaround point: Playa San Josecito
- Elevation gain: 432 m
- Difficulty: moderate
It’s best to start this hike early as temperatures get hot, even while walking in the shade of the jungle, and because you want to make it back to Drake Bay before sundown. I’d say start by no later than 8:00.
The route is mostly flat jungle path broken up by sections of concrete underfoot and beaches. There’s also the occasional flight of steps to climb, some of which are steep, and a river that, at high tide, you’ll need to cross either swimming or with a canoe.
While it’s pretty difficult to get lost on this trail, there are points where it isn’t that clear which way to go, so it’s a good idea to have an offline map downloaded. I normally use Maps.me or AllTrails.
To get back to Drake Bay you can either walk, take a boat taxi or a regular taxi. Although the round trip is just shy of 20 km, overall, the Drake Bay Trail isn’t too challenging.
Drake Bay Town (Agujitas) to Playa Cocalito: 2 km
The trail begins at the western end of Playa Colorado where you’ll see a small flight of concrete steps leading up past a hotel called Jinetes de Oso. To get to the step you can either walk along Playa Colorado or the road running parallel to it.
After climbing the steps, you join a narrow, flat dirt trail taking you through the jungle past the occasional hotel and restaurant.
Around 5 min in to the walk you’ll come to a hanging bridge crossing the Rio Agujitas. Although the bridge looks questionable, it’s made of metal and feels strong. Small boats are usually parked in the water here, which is surprisingly turquoise.
Continue through the jungle for another 20 minutes or so and you’ll get to Playa Cocalito, the first of the beautiful virgin beaches along the trail.
Next to Playa Coaclito are playas Rocolito and Valelria, each separated by rocky outcrops jutting out into the ocean. It should take you around 30 min to reach Playa Cocalito.
These beaches are beautiful enough and you might be tempted stay here without going any further. However, closer to Playa San Josecito, you’ll pass through a wildlife reserve, which is your best chance of seeing fauna, so keep going if you want this experience.
Walking in the jungle vs along the beaches
From Playa Cocalito onwards you could walk along the beaches all the way to Playa San Josecito instead of following the jungle trail. However, I don’t recommend doing this for a few reasons.
Firstly, walking over sand would take longer and be more tiring. Secondly, come late morning it’s hot and the jungle provides shade. Thirdly, while the views from the beaches are better, you’ll rule out any chance seeing the wildlife that lives in the jungle.
Playa Cocalito to Punto Rio Claro Wildlife Refuge: 3 km
This section makes up a good chunk of the trail to Playa San Josecito and, from Playa Cocalito, it should take you around 1 h to reach the boundary of the refuge. The underfoot is mostly dirt trail, but there are also steps.
There are parts along this section where the trail isn’t obvious like before, so keep your eyes peeled. Also, there are points where clear paths lead away from the beach uphill deeper into the jungle.
These paths take you to resorts and, while you can re-join the trail on the other side of these resorts, passing through them doesn’t add much to the experience. Therefore, I recommend sticking to the trail closest to the beach.
As you near the Punto Rio Claro Wildlife Refuge, you pass by 2 pretty coves called Playa Las Coletas and Playa Iris.
Punto Rio Claro Wildlife Refuge
As you leave Playa Iris behind, you enter the Punto Rio Claro Wildlife Refuge, roughly 4.5 km from Drake Bay. This is a 3.2 km2 protected area home to a range of wildlife including white-faced capuchin monkeys, howler monkeys, lizards, sloths and birds such as the vibrantly-coloured scarlet macaw.
The capuchins are curious and they aren’t afraid to descend the trees to the trail to get a closer look at you but also your snacks. I saw loads of capuchins, including mothers with their cute babies.
Just be sure not to feed any animals. It can be tempting to share your snacks with the monkeys, but this does them no favours in the long run as they learn to beg for food instead of foraging for their own.
Also, if you’ve got a camera, then this is the moment to use it. The wildlife refuge is a great opportunity to snap some shots.
Punto Rio Claro Wildlife Refuge to Playa San Josecito: 3.5 km
The final section of the trail should take you around another hour to walk and again you pass by untouched beaches. This time you’ll see playas Danta (Tapir), Jazmin and Punto Rio Claro all of which are just as stunning as the beaches before. The trail is mostly dirt becoming sandier as you near the beaches.
Crossing the Rio Claro
Around 7.5 km from Drake Bay, you’ll come to the Rio Claro (Clear River). The river intersects the trail at Punto Rio Claro and you need to cross it.
At low tide this is easy as you can wade through the shallow water. But when the tide is in the water is deep and, depending on how tall you are, you might need to swim, which could be tricky with your things.
If you’re not confident doing this, then there’s another way to cross. Just before the river there is a sign nailed to a tree with a whistle hanging from it. The instructions say to blow the whistle and the idea is that someone comes in a canoe to take you across the river at high tide.
This takes roughly 1 min and costs $2 per person which goes to local wildlife conservation efforts. I believe that this is a turtle conservation initiative run from the Punto Rio Claro Wildlife Refuge.
Be patient as you might have to blow the whistle a few times before someone hears you. I’ve linked to a surf forecast here too so you can check tide times for Drake Bay.
Playa San Josecito
San Josecito is a stunning beach, roughly 8.5 km from Drake Bay, and is my favourite on the trail. This is where I recommend finding a comfy spot under a tree, laying your towel down on the white sand and going for a dip in the Pacific Ocean.
It’s a small beach lined with coconut trees and, given its distance from Drake Bay, there’s a good chance you’ll be the only people here. I was here during the height of dry season, which is also peak tourism season, and no one else was at the beach except my friend.
Playa San Josecito is the definition of paradise; relaxing on its soft sand, listening to the ocean waves crash and taking in the beautiful scenery is nothing short of idyllic. Arriving by late morning will give you plenty of time to enjoy it before heading back to Agujitas.
The trail continues for a while after Play San Josecito to a larger beach called Playa Rincon. This is a long stretch of sand with a few hotels among the trees just back off it.
I didn’t make it to Playa Rincon and suggest you only do if you arrive in time to get back to Drake Bay before the sun sets.
Getting back to Drake Bay Town (Agujitas)
I recommend walking back to Drake Bay from Playa San Josecito. It’s another chance to see wildlife and you can spend time on some of the other beaches, such as Playa Cocalito. If you plan on stopping at other beaches, then I recommend setting off from Playa San Josecito no later than 14:00.
But if your legs won’t make it, there are other options for getting back. The first is to organise a boat pickup from Playa San Josecito, which I’ve read online costs around $20 US and takes roughly 25 min. You need to organise this in Agujitas before you hike the Drake Bay Trail.
This means that you also need to have more of a plan for the day so you are ready to leave Playa San Josecito at the greed pickup time.
The second option is to take a regular taxi which I’ve read online costs around $40 US and takes roughly 30 min. You probably won’t have signal to call one yourself, but you can walk to Playa Rincon, around a kilometre or so further than Playa San Josecito, and ask at 1 of the hotels if they can.
I’ve also read online that the owner of Sunset Paradise Restaurant is a helpful guy and can call a taxi for you.
Taxis leave from a carpark behind Playa Rincon close to a hotel called Poor Man’s Paradise. To get here, stick to the Drake Bay Trail, running parallel to Playa Rincon, before turning onto a path leading away from the beach. You’ll come to the car park a few hundred metres after leaving the beach behind.
Be sure to clarify directions to the car park with whoever you ask for help organising a taxi. And again, factor into your day the extra time needed to reach Playa Rincon and walking to the taxi pickup point.
When to hike the Drake Bay Trail
The dry season in Costa Rica runs December – April and is the ideal time to do the Drake Bay hiking trail. The underfoot will be dry and the warmer weather and clear skies perfect for enjoying the beaches. I did the hike on a hot March day, which was great.
During rainy season, May – November, the hike would still be possible but I imagine the trail being quite muddy and the beaches not being as enjoyable. The upside is that the dense jungle would provide shelter from the rain throughout much of the route.
Final tips for walking the Drake Bay Trail
Bring plenty of water for this hike, at least 2 L, as you’ll get thirsty, especially during the dry season when it’s hot and humid.
Pack a lunch to too as Playa San Josecito is a great spot to eat and after the long walk and swimming you’ll have a hole to fill. Bring plenty to eat because there’s nowhere nearby to pick up anything extra.
Of course, you’ll need swimming gear to enjoy the ocean and sunscreen to protect you from the rays. And don’t forget your sunglasses either.
Remember to download a map too. While the trail is fairly obvious for almost the entire way, there are a couple of points where you could mistake the paths leading up to resorts as being the route.
I’d wear decent shoes for this long trail, not flipflops, and bring a rain jacket just in case. It’s almost a given that you’ll need to use your jacket at some point if doing the hike during rainy season.
Finally, the earlier you start the hike the better. We began at sunrise which meant we not only saw Drake Bay lit up by the morning light, but also arrived at Playa San Josecito in plenty of time for the walk back.
Enjoy the Drake Bay hiking trail in Costa Rica
Hiking the Drake Bay trail is 1 of my top recommendations when visiting the area. The route is a beach lover’s dream and spotting exotic wildlife is the cherry on top.
There’s plenty more Costa Rica adventure travel content on A World Over. For a full overview of Drake Bay, see my complete guide here. And for all of my other articles on this amazing country, head to the Costa Rica blog section.